


Broken Mirror

by Lacey5296



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Reader, F/F, F/M, Magic!Reader, Other, Reader Is Badass, Reader is Not Nice, Slow Burn, boys are suspecious, everyone should just calm down, humans have magic in readers universe, more to add because spoilers, reader has trauma, reader is boss, reader is from alternate universe, reader not fond of nice alternate, trust building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21785836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacey5296/pseuds/Lacey5296
Summary: Jaybird is from a not so great universe where monsters were not received kindly and humans magic was awoken when they escaped from the mountain. But now she has been taken away from her universe and slapped in a universe where her alternate self is full of rainbows and sunshine. She also lives with a bunch of skeletons from other universes, great.Jaybird just wants to go home, and all this niceness and kindness is suspicious. For now she has to deal with it, and learn to get along with all these powerful skeletons, some of whom don't take kindly to her having magic.
Relationships: Papyrus(Swapfell)/Reader, Papyrus(Underfell)/Reader, Papyrus(Underswap)/Reader, Papyrus/Reader, Sans(Underfell)/Reader, Sans(Underswap)/Reader, Sans(swapfell)/reader, Sans/Reader
Comments: 62
Kudos: 192





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [F1ukemeister24](https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1ukemeister24/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Witchtale](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458959) by [F1ukemeister24](https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1ukemeister24/pseuds/F1ukemeister24). 



Jaybird hissed in annoyance as she ducked down and shoved her back against the back of a table. Gunshots echoed just overhead. The deal had been a set-up, like she had expected. Junior huffed in annoyance, a little out of breath from the adrenaline filling both of their bodies. Junior’s hands were already glowing a warm red as their magic spiked, ready for a fight. Jaybird had slipped her M-gun into her hands as she had ducked down and the magic condenser was already glowing a pale blue. It was time to let these little cocky up-starts just who they were dealing with. 

As the gunfire paused JayBird sensed her people magic building and the spike of the small gang stuttering magic in response. The offenders were the Bulldogs, a little gang that had moved into town and thought they could get a hold in her territory. They had arranged a deal to join her corporation, but it seems they were not here to negotiate, but rather try to take JayBird out. 

It was a deathwish. 

Filtering a spike of light blue magic into her M-gun JayBird peered out, and fired off in the direction where most of the Bulldogs were gathered. The shot connected with the wall and a small blast of energy burst outward, throwing the gang and some furniture backwards. Most of them were caught off guard and flew into the open. 

Junior spread their hands and a red net spread out from their fingers, they made eye contact and nodded. They launched themselves over the table and tossed their hands out over the exposed and still recovering gang members, pinning them to the ground and immobilizing them. Jaybird grinned manically in pride. Junior was still a pacifist, but they were effective. Their short brown bob-cut hair was waving in the air of their magic, dark red eyes barely visible. 

Her people descended, moving in with their magic sparking, quickly subduing the remaining gang members. Grinning in satisfaction she stood and brushed down her gray vest and sky blue button down. They made her get dirt on her clothes, a minor annoyance, but a grave offense for her people. 

A senior member, John, rushed over and helped brush off her back, a scowl prominent on his face. She chuckled and he huffed in annoyance, moving to straighten her tie. Jaybird gingerly ran a hand over her blue fohawk hair making sure not a strand was out of place. It was still in place. Good. 

Sounds of a struggle drew her attention and suddenly several things happened at once. John’s orange magic spiked and a shield began expanding from his hands. One of the gang members yanked themselves from one of her people’s grasps, red hand overflowing with magic, the hand extending towards her. A flash, and pain ripping into her arm. Then the whole world vanished as a black void opened under her feet and swallowed her before Jaybird’s magic could react. 

Then Jaybird was in a laboratory. It was clean, and full of machines with light streaming through wide windows. She was experiencing an intense case of vertigo, but her defensive training kept her on her feet, M-gun ready, eyes scanning the tilting environment. 

Suddenly there were voices and movement. A woman, who looked startling familiar, but Jaybird couldn’t place through her whirling mind. Next to her was a skeleton. A walking, moving skeleton. A monster. They were also startling familiar. 

The world was beginning to settle, but Jaybird still held her M-gun at the approaching beings. The Skeleton was defensively in front of the woman, his permanently grinning face set in a deep frown. 

Wait. Wasn’t he dead? Jaybird remembered seeing it online. The military had raided the encampment of the monsters who had emerged from Mount Ebbott, there was footage of him crumbling into dust alongside another skeleton monster. 

“Where am I? Who are you? What have you done?!” Jaybird demanded as her senses finally settled with her thoughts.  
The skeleton monster scowl deepened, a spark of blue magic lighting up in one of his eye sockets. 

He raised his hands placatingly, but Jaybird’s green shield magic sparked around her body in response to his growing magic. The blue magic in his eye socket faded as his face, which was surprisingly expressive for a skeleton, morphed into shock. “woah there buddy, calm down now and we can talk.”

Dark green magic filtered into Jaybird’s M-gun, and she kept it level towards the skeleton. “Talk, and maybe I’ll consider not blowing you to pieces.”

The scowl returned, but the woman spoke up. She called out Jaybird’s name, her real name. Jaybird zeroed in on the woman. “How do you…” she trailed off realizing why the woman looked so familiar. It was like looking in the mirror. 

“We share the same name, because well, we’re the same person. You’re from a different universe, and it seems we pulled you from there. You’re under no danger, so,” she had a panicked look in her eye every time she eyed Jaybird’s M-gun. “W-we can get you patched up and explain everything further. So please,” her warm doe-like eyes pleaded with so much emotion it actually shocked Jaybird. She lacked the hardened edge she always saw in her own eyes when she looked in a mirror. She was inclined to believe this naive version of herself. “...please put the gun away.”

A few tense moments passed, and Jaybird kept her green shield magic up, but holstered her gun away under her vest. She looked at the skeleton, who still had his magical hackles raised. “It explains why you’re still alive.” Jaybird said to him. 

She almost smiled at the horror that spread over his face. 

“What…” the doe-eyed, version of her gasped, hand flying to her face in horror. Tears were already gathering at the edges of her eyes. By the stars this Bambi girl was going to get on her nerves. She had seen nothing about the true ugliness of the world, it was startling obvious. Was probably kind to a fault, like how Jaybird was like as a child. 

A pang of...jealousy sparked in Jaybird. She brushed it off. She had to get home. Junior could run her people without her, but she still needed to get back. 

Jaybird sighed, and settled her hands on her hips. She finally registered a pain in her arms and saw the bright bloody stain soaking most of her right sleeve. A half inch chunk of flesh was missing from her arm. Ah, that little punk actually landed a hit. 

“Huh.” She breathed and jumped as Bambi was suddenly at her side, not touching her wound but fretting just the same over it. 

The skeleton was bristling, hand hovering to pull Bambi back. Jaybird grinned wickedly at him, making him flinch back. So she has him wrapped around her little finger huh? Figures, she had the same air as a little kitten, you wanted to wrap her up and protect her. It seems she really did have a sparkling easy life huh. 

“We-we should get Paps, he’s the best at healing.” Bambi said finally placing her hand on Jaybird’s. It was soft. 

Jaybird hummed and minutely dipped her head in ascent. Bambi took hold of her hand and whisked her away. The skeleton was right on their heels and did not look happy at all. 

They exited the laboratory, which was on the third floor of an extensive house, the size close to a small mansion. They headed down the stairs, Bambi calling out, “Papyrus!” 

A loud, excited voice called out their name, and Jaybird bristled. There was a reason she no longer used that name. Hearing it, even if it was not directed at her put her even more on edge. 

As they descended Jaybird glanced down to what looked like a large living room on the first floor, and spotted seven more skeletons displaced around the room. Four were tall and lanky, and three looked like the one on her heels. 

Bambi had mentioned something about different universe and Jaybird suspected that the similarity between the skeletons was linked to that. Maybe they were also from different universes, Bambi and the skeleton behind her didn’t seem too shocked to she her pop into their laboratory. Interesting. 

Glancing back down a variety of colored lights from inside dark sockets stared back. Her magic spiked and her shield hardened, a soft green now covered her whole body. The eye sockets on her widened and several jaws opened. She took in their appearances. 

A lanky skeleton with a sucker hanging from his slack jaw was sitting up from his previous slumped position. His golden orange hoodie seemed to swallow him. He also wore tan cargo shorts and red untied converse. His small honey colored eye lights stared at her, shock evident on his face. Despite his frumpy appearance she could sense a threatening aura from him. It was subtle, so she assumed he worked more in the shadows rather than be confrontational. 

Next to him was a shorter skeleton in a baggy red shirt, black sweatpants, and large untied converse. A red, spiked dog collar hung around his throat, but it radiated magic that was different than his roaring magic. A gold tooth was fitted between his sharp teeth. His whole appearance was sharp, and his small red eye lights were locked with hers, his magic raising and he bristled as his eyes turned and looked at her bleeding arm. He was an obvious threat, she could tell he had a higher level, and should be watched. 

On the ground in front of the enormous television were three skeletons with gaming controllers in their hands, a racing game playing out on the screen. The farthest on the right was a smaller skeleton, with a bright teal blue bandana around his neck, wide bright blue eye light staring up at her in awe. He seemed to be wearing a white t-shirt with some handwritten phrase on it, teal blue pants, gloves and boots. His magic was strong, but non-aggressive and he appeared as innocent as Bambi, but knowing he was an alternate for the aggressive skeleton behind him she knew not to underestimate it. 

Next to the blue themed skeleton on the ground was a tall skeleton that was on his feet. He was glancing rapidly between Bambi and Jaybird, small white eye lights were bright. His magic was also very strong, almost smothering in its sense of positivity. A bright red scarf that seemed to have a life of its own was wrapped around his neck, an orange plaid button up and long tan pants, with bright red boots completed his outfit. Jaybird kept the same opinion that while he seemed non aggressive, but had enough magic to keep an eye on. 

The tall skeleton next to him stood up as Jaybird analyzed him. A torn up red scarf was wrapped around his neck above a tight fitting leather jacket that had an excess of metal spikes. A heavy metal band t-shirt, and very form fitting leather pants and leather boots showed off this skeleton’s form in a strangely flattering way. His sharp teeth, cracks across one of his sockets and his tiny dark red eye light bore into her. His magic was flaring and threatening, and his magic matched what was coming off the dog collar of the shorter red eyed skeleton. A pair, she assumed. He was also an evident threat. 

Off to the side were two more skeletons. A shorter one also decked out in tight leather apparel and a royal purple bandana tied around his neck. A similar colored shirt could be seen underneath his jacket and he scowled at her, dark purple eyes boring into her, demanding subjugation. As she made eye contact her eyes narrowed briefly in challenge. His demanding flare of magic did not faze her, and his eye sockets narrowed in obvious distaste at the short exchange. 

On the ground next to him was another tall skeleton sitting crossed-legged. Dark orange eye lights looked as if he couldn’t care less, but held weight behind them. A burnt orange sweater was underneath a fur hooded black hoodie. Dark torn jeans with handing belts and chains and dark converse. Another matching pair as the violet eyed skeleton’s magic filled a black dog collar around his neck. He had two golden teeth, scars across one of his eye sockets. Both had a tight dynamic, and both were threats as much as the red eyed ones. 

Jaybird pushed more magic into her shield, she was surrounded by threats, and was alone. She pushed down flashes of unwanted memories. Her M-gun warmed slightly as she kept funneling magin in the loading chamber. She had four shots before she would have to reload. 

If she was going down, she’d take a few of them with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations and introductions.

Jaybird’s feet hit the bottom floor and felt several of the skeletons’ magic spike. Reacting to the rising threat her shield thickened again, it would take a large amount of magic attacks to start cracking it. 

The room exploded into noise, everyone was shouting. Bambi looked panicked and released Jaybird’s hand and a small wave of relief washed over her. She stepped away from Bambi, glancing at the short white eyed skeleton behind her and maneuvered herself so her back was to a wall. She palmed a dagger into her hand and let her magic filter over the blade. 

Her breathing was calm, and she was focused. She had been in worse odds before and gotten out. It only took a little  _ determination _ . But. Her magic was green, her best defensive magic. Blue magic was her best offensive, but red magic. Oh red magic was the most versatile. However, this situation was best handled on the defensive. 

Glancing around Jaybird had been correct in assuming the red eyed skeletons and the purple and dark orange duo were the most dangerous. Summoned femur bones that were sharp to a lethal point were in hands and were being waved around. Bambi was yelled and trying to intervene. 

The short white eyed one was trying to help, and the tall… ok Jaybird needed names, it was becoming too confusing to keep track of all of the threats. On top of it all she was still losing blood. 

Everyone was still shouting, magic saturating the air until every hair on Jaybird’s head and arms were raised. Most of it was from her mounting magic. The situation was quickly dissolving and Bambi obviously was not in control. 

Backing up her voice with a burst of magic she shouted, “Quiet! All of you!” 

Silence. 

She took a breath. Keeping her dagger hidden she pointed using her injured arm, first at Bambi. “You, naive little girl, explain why you thought it was remotely a good idea to bring me to a room filled with hostile monsters.” 

She pointed at the short white eyed skeleton that was with Bambi in the lab, “You will help explain why you pulled me into this universe.”

Then she pointed at the tall white eyed skeleton in the orange plaid flannel, “And you, I assume you are Papyrus, or at least the version these two”, she pointed at Bambi and the short skeleton she addressed previously, “will follow and heal my injury like little Bambi here promised.”

She then looked towards the other six skeletons in the room, eyes narrowed. “The rest of you will wait out here until I understand exactly what in the blasted stars above is happening, in which I will expect proper introductions. Any deviation from this will result in dire,” with this she let her eyes flash a dark, dark green, “consequences for you little Bambi.”

A few moments of silence passed, and the short white eyed skeleton broke the silence and sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, gaining a moment of fascination from Jaybird as the bone actually flexed under his ministrations. “you all know how confusin’ it was when you arrived, do as she says.” 

So he was the head of the house-hold. Good to know. 

Jaybird’s soul settled as they moved to do as she instructed. Good. It was always good to be the one in control. 

They moved into a large kitchen and dining room. They closed the sliding doors behind them, blocking out the muffled grumbling from the other remaining skeletons. 

Jaybird moved past the three strangers and confidently eased herself in a chair she pulled out from the large dining table without a sound. Releasing the magic from her shield she held out her injured arm and looked pointedly at the tall sk-Papyrus-who hurried over and grabbed her arm with surprising gentleness. As she felt the familiar feeling of healing magic entering her system. 

She looked at the two being in front of her. Bambi was fidgeting in a way that would be cute on a child, but was rather infuriating seeing on a full grown woman. This indecisiveness, this meekness, it would have gotten Jaybird killed long ago. Yet, this...this copy of her was allowed to keep this habit. A mix of unfamiliar feeling swirled in Jaybird’s gut. 

She broke from her internal mess and looked the skeleton square in his eye sockets and narrowed her eyes. “Explain. Now.” Her voice was firm, commanding. The same voice she used when directing her people. It couldn’t be refused or debated. 

“ah, well…” 

He went on to explain everything about his machine, and how with help from your counterpart and her PHD in theoretical physics they were able to lock onto other universes through his-Sans as he finally introduced, or rather Papyrus had yelled it as he inserted so many puns into his explanation-machine he had since the underground. From that they had managed to pull his and his brother’s counterparts from several bordering universes. 

Then they had locked onto her universe. The machine locked onto her instead of Sans’ counterpart. Which made since, as he had been killed years before. It had pulled Jaybird here instead. A surprise for all of them. 

Leaning back, magic still humming through a less powered shield, Jaybird narrowed her eyes, the information settling into her mind. “So, how do you send me back?”

Bambi and Sans glanced nervously at each other, Jaybird did not like that. “You can’t, or you don’t know how?”

Before either could speak Papyrus spoke up, “I AM SURE MY BROTHER AND SUNSHINE WILL FIGURE IT OUT! IN THE MEANTIME YOU ARE A GUEST HERE, WE HAVE ONE MORE AVAILABLE ROOM THAT YOU CAN STAY IN! WE CAN EVEN GO SHOPPING AND LET YOU DECORATE IT HOWEVER YOU WANT!”

Ah, someone had some manners and understood what they owed her since they ripped her from her home. She sent a half genuine smile towards Papyrus, and he seemed to still in shock at her expression. Jaybird turned to the others. 

“It’s good to know at least one of you has at least some semblance of manners.” Jaybird turned to Bambi and Sans. “If you had any notion to throw me out to fend for myself then obviously you must be not as intelligent as you claim.” 

She zeroed in on Bambi. “I suggest you work on a solution to send me back as soon as possible. I actually have responsibilities to return to, rather than playing house.” 

A spark of anger flared up in Bambi’s eyes for the first time. So she did have some spine. Jaybird felt tempted to try and break her. The thought twisted her face for a fleeting moment. 

“Now,” Jaybird clapped her hands and stood swiftly. “I think introductions of the others are now in order, and we had best get started on furnishing my room for the duration of my stay.”

Papyrus rushed to follow Jaybird, and opened the sliding doors as she approached them. She could grow to like this one. 

The doors opened and several of the awaiting skeletons tumbled over each other, trying and failing to disguise their eavesdropping. At the very least it was amusing. 

The more dangerous ones bristled as Jaybird’s magic spiked just as a promise of retribution should they launch an attack. Besides, she still had her M-gun’s chambers loaded, and the dagger was still palmed and ready for use. 

Arms folded behind her back, and stance dominating she stood back straight and demanding respect. They would know and respect her power, one way or another. 

“I believe proper introductions are in order now that the surprise of my arrival seems to have settled. You know my name, as Bambi there is my alternate from this universe. However, you will address me as Jaybird, and only Jaybird. From what I understand you are all named either Sans, or Papyrus, but I assume with assurance that you have figured out some naming system.”

She then looked pointedly at the one closest to her. It was the small one with big light blue eyelights and a baby blue bandana around his neck. 

As they made eye contact his eye lights enlarged and he placed his hands on his hips in a power pose. A spike of his magic, that radiated a childlike energy to it. The amount of energy underlying the spike still made Jaybird wary. 

“MUEHEHEH! I AM THE MAGNIFICENT SANS! HOWEVER ALTERNATE-ER, JAYBIRD-EVERYONE CALLS ME BLUE!” He bounced in place and continued, “WHAT IS YOUR UNIVERSE LIKE? HOW DO YOU DIFFER FROM MY LADY? HOW ARE YOU SIMILAR!” He gasped, hands squishing his somehow puffy cheeks, it giving way to his pressure. 

He took a breath to continue, but Jaybird held up a hand and he paused. She offered a trained, placating smile, a little shocked at his burst of friendliness. “It’s an honor to meet you Blue, we can exchange information shortly.” She then looked at the orange hoodie wearing skeleton that seemed to be Blue’s shadow. His Papyrus she assumed. 

He stared hard at her, but she didn’t let her gaze waver, and he finally glanced away and pulled a golden colored sucker from between his straight teeth. “you can call me Stretch. gotta few questions of m’own for ya little bird.” He smirked and Jaybird felt an itching to shoot his foot to wipe that smug look off his face. He was the one to back down, he showed submission. 

Jaybird’s shoulders squared and she scowled at him. “It’s Jaybird, and it seems we all have further questions we need to discuss after this.” 

The short purple eyed skeleton dressed in leather and a dark purple worn bandana glared hard at her, arms folded he snorted, still not looking away. Jaybird had performed a few stand-offs before. She pulled a little more magic into her eyes to reduce the need for blinking. He didn’t waver, but announced, “YOU INFERIOR FORM OF OUR HUMAN MAY HAVE THE HONOR OF CALLING ME MASTER, BUT IF YOU CANNOT EVEN DO THAT WITH YOUR OBVIOUS LACK OF INTELLECT, YOU MAY CALL ME BLACK. AND CAN ADDRESS MY BROTHER AS RUS.”

Jaybird snorted in distaste, he would be difficult to deal with. She would always have to have her shield up around this pair of brothers. “Then I shall address you as I please. You seem to lack even the basic manners of hosting a guest, something a trained whimsun can perform. How disappointing.” She sniffed, letting him know just how little she actually cared for his attitude and glanced briefly at his brother. She raised perfectly shaped eyebrow at him, “and despite being a skeleton I see your brother owns your spine.”

She turned mentally dismissing the brothers and turned to the red-eyed brothers. Both were very defensive. The shorter brother, Sans, grinned wickedly, winking and licking his sharp teeth in a lewd fashion. Jaybird did not react. She just waited for several tense seconds and he began to sweat red magic before dropping his eyes. 

His Papyrus grumbled and whacked the back of his skull, rolling his tiny red eyelights in obvious frustration. “THIS SLOB OF A SKELETON IS RED, AND YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS EDGE. IT SEEMS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES MY SOFT COUNTERPART HAS ANY PROPER MANNERS. WHILE IT IS UNFORTUNATE YOU GOT DRAGGED HERE, HE AND I WILL SHOW YOU PROPER HOSTING.”

“Your knowledge is appreciated. I require furnishing before night falls. I assume you and Papyrus can at least assist me with that?” His chest puffed with obvious pride as Jaybird sent him a smirk, humor bouncing in her eyes. 

“OF COURSE.” He glanced up at Papyrus, who rushed to the front door. Edge walked to Jaybird’s side and escorted her towards the door. As they walked, she fully took out her dagger, but off her sleeves, and pulled out her phone. She accessed her storage box and pulled out a jacket and put it on with short precise movements and buttoned the second button as they walked out the door. 

“Let’s not waste anymore time.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh geez, oh dang. So many skeletons to juggle. It's honestly a little overwhelming having them all in one room. Can I panic yet. 
> 
> soooo.... any of you hate Jaybird yet? Lol she's so different from me and my usual characters it's almost scary to write her. But hey, she's a boss and shouldn't be messed with.  
> -_- yep
> 
> anyway, what have I gotten myself into. I'm so wrapped up in Jaybirds brain that I'm struggling with outside movements and interactions. AHHHHHHHHH
> 
> but thanks for reading! She'll slowly interact with all the boys. Lot's of dynamics ahead. 
> 
> *panics in the corner*


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus, Edge, and Jaybird have a serious conversation.   
> Then they go get some furniture.   
> Things are still tense.

As the door clicked closed behind Jaybird she stifled her breath of relief. She felt Edge’s eyes on her, so she glanced at her and raised an eyebrow in question. He shook his head and glanced at Papyrus. 

The skeleton in question was leading the way, posture and magic trying to bleed confidence, but it was shaky. The corners of his large smile were twitching and dipping slightly as he kept glancing backwards at Jaybird. The soft warmth of his magic kept brushing against the border of her magic. It was unnerving to Jaybird that someone was trying to connect that deeply that quickly. 

The sharp look she sent Papyrus made his magic immediately back off. The next time he made quick eye contact she sent an appreciative nod his way. His grin returned tenfold and Jaybird stilled the surprise that filled her from showing on her face. His optimism and positivity was overwhelming. 

The two tall skeletons wordlessly lead her to a large separated building that had several garage doors. The estate they were on was indeed massive as she couldn't see the end of the property anywhere in sight. 

The house was in fact a small mansion, painted in a warm cream color with light blue accents. The grounds were well kept and bright green. The sun was a few hours away from noon, but it was definitely early spring. 

Jaybird could appreciate the view and the good weather. 

But. The house was isolated. Which held many pros and cons. She started compiling a list as they reached a side door of the garage and Papyrus held it open for her and Edge to enter. Inside the dimly lit concrete interior were several vehicles from motorcycles to convertibles. All were well taken care of, and very expensive. 

She followed Edge as he led them to a gorgeous black convertible with red leather seats. He opened the passenger door for her and she dipped her head in thanks and sat in the plush seats. She clipped on her seatbelt and watched as the Edge got into the driver's seat and Papyrus sat behind her. 

Papyrus had not stopped fidgeting since they had left the house and Jaybird couldn’t ignore it anymore. Well, she could, but it would just annoy her the rest of the way, so she might as well take care of it now. She held a hand out to Edge and he paused before starting the car. Jaybird turned and looked Papyrus square in his eye lights. 

“It’s obvious that you have something you want to say. What is it?”

Papyrus shrunk back a little, his nervous fidgeting worsening. Jaybird waited. Several moments passed and she could feel Edge’s mounting annoyance. So she glanced at him. He stilled at the sharp look she gave him. She turned back to Papyrus. 

“OH! U-UMM… IT-IT IS JUST THAT NOW THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO CALM DOWN, THIS SEEMS LIKE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER. BUT IT SEEMS AS IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO TALK, BUT I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO GET TO KNOW YOU IF YOU DO NOT TALK AND IF WE CANNOT GET ALONG AND BECOME FRIENDS THEN EVERYONE WILL JUST CONTINUE TO GET ANGRY AND UPSET BECAUSE THE BEST WAY TO MAKE EVERYONE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER IS TO JUST TALK IT OUT, BUT I WANT TO RESPECT YOUR WISHES OF NOT WANTING TO TALK AN-” 

Jaybird held up a hand to stop his rambling. She blinked, eyes a little wider than before as her brain caught up to the fast rambling. She took a breath, “I appreciate your concern Papyrus. It is not that I don’t wish to talk, it is that I do not owe it to anyone to explain myself until I understand the situation I am in. I am not here to make friends, or even play nice.” 

Papyrus shrunk even farther under her gaze as it sharpened. “You understand that I was ripped away from my home. From everything that I know. This is not some grand adventure of merriment where everyone sings Kumbaya and become the best of friends. I have responsibilities and people I need to return to.”

Jaybird glanced at Edge as she sensed his growing amusement. She mentally rolled her eyes and turned back to face Papyrus. 

“You don’t know me. Just because you know  _ her, _ does not mean you know me. Just as you and Edge here are different Papyrus’ I am different from her. I’m sure you would not enjoy being taken away from your world as you know it. So _ don’t _ ”, she emphasized by flaring her magic and pointing, “expect me to enjoy a second of this.” 

She sniffed, reigning her magic back into a shield that you could barely perceive. She would never let her defenses down around these beings. She watched as Papyrus frantically rung his red gloved hands together, and orange magic tears began gathering at the corners of his sockets. 

Shit. 

Stars above it was like she had kicked a puppy. With a mental groan and an almost silent breath she spoke to him again. Her voice wasn’t as harsh, just to the point. “If you wish to know about the universe I came from then it is only fair if there is an exchange of information. Tell me about this universe and in exchange I will answer some of your questions about my universe.” 

That seemed to snap him out of the kicked puppy look. His magic flared, bright and positive again. She glances and nodded towards Edge who nodded in understanding. He started the car and opened the garage door as Papyrus began telling her, well literally everything. 

His loud voice was easily heard over the wind. In a grandiose telling about his entire life, with lots of self promotion. He grew up underground with his older brother Sans, his best friend Undyne and her girlfriend Alphys. At the mention of her employed monster scientist a weird feeling flowed into Jaybird’s gut, but she let no emotion show as she just continued to listen. 

Papyrus told of how a brave little human named Frisk, or Junior as Jaybird calls her version, came and rescued the monsters, breaking the barrier and freeing them all a little over 2 years ago. Since then the human government has showed kindness and they made several peace treaties with the King (Asgore) and Queen (Toriel) of monsters with the help of the newly dubbed ambassador of monsters (Frisk). He boasted about his own position as mascot of monsterkind and Frisk’s personal bodyguard. 

He continued to tell of several missadventures he had with his friends as they settled into surface life. How they went to the beach, discovered new foods, and how he got cooking lessons from the Queen, and how he finally got his driver’s license after failing several times before for “showing off his superb driving skills”. 

“THEN MY BROTHER, WHO WAS WORKING AT A UNIVERSITIES’ LAB MET SUNSHINE AND THEY EVENTUALLY MOVED IN WITH US. THAT WAS ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO NOW. IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER THAT THAT THE TWO OF THEM GOT THE MACHINE TO WORK AND…” he paused for the first time in the last 20 minutes and glanced between Jaybird and Edge, “THAT WAS WHEN WE GOT A LOT MORE OF US TO LIVE WITH.” He rung his hands together, “IT WASN’T EASY AT FIRST, EVERYONE WAS SCARED AND ANGRY AT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME. THEN SUNSHINE GOT US ALL TO TALK TO EACH OTHER AND SLOWLY WE ALL STARTED BECOME CLOSER FRIENDS.”

Edge glanced back and huffed a loud disagreement. Papyrus curled back into himself a little, “WELL, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON THAT PART.”

Edge pulled off the main road they had been traveling on for a while and into the parking lot of a large furniture store. “WE’RE HERE.” He announced shortly. 

Jaybird could feel his annoyance coming off of him in waves. It was obviously directed at his counterpart. Jaybird could emphasize, Papyrus was a lot to handle. 

Jaybird waited as the two tall skeletons exited the car, Papyrus beating Edge to her door. She stepped out and nodded a silent thanks. They flanked her as they approached the door. Papyrus was already explaining about all the different kinds of furniture they could find, and about the nice people that worked there. 

A spark of annoyance flashed through Jaybird. She held a hand up to silence him. “I appreciate all the information, but for now I would appreciate silence.”

Papyrus’ expression fell a little, but he squared his shoulders, offered a smile and nodded. 

Thank the heavens. His constant chatter reminded her of the inane children and monster children that she sometimes stumbled across. 

She was never like that as a child. 

A pang of unfamiliar feeling sparked in Jaybird. She ignored it and entered the store. 

  
  
  


A bright, round, and cheerful man in tan slacks and a light green button up approached the trio after they entered. His well trimmed salt and pepper beard hid his lips, but his bright white smile was on full display. “My, my, the skeleton family back again! And you even roped in another pretty lady.” 

He already had an arm wrapped around Papyrus in a friendly manner as he led them farther into the store. “HELLO AGAIN HUMAN ROBERT! IT IS WONDERFUL SEEING YOU ONCE AGAIN. WE ARE IN NEED OF FURNITURE FOR OUR FR-ER JAYBIRD-HERE.”

Jaybird walked forward, hand extended, friendly smile on her face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, the boys here told me about the great work you do here. I’m excited to work with you Robert.”

As expected, Robert beamed and dragged her away by her shoulders. He showed her his best pieces, and kept mentioning a discount. Jaybird kept her friendly demeanor, noticing the shocked looks Edge and Papyrus kept exchanging. 

It only took a little over an hour to get a full bedroom and desk set all picked out and bought. Robert had indeed given them a discount as the skeleton ‘family’ had purchased from him several times before. He even gave a discount for their same day delivery. He saw them off as cheerful and pleasant as he had been when he had greeted them. 

He was a kind man. His soul and magic weren’t as pronounced, but Jaybird enjoyed his company. Kind, hard working people always were easier to work with. She would have to keep him in mind if her stay was prolonged. 

Outside and approaching the car Jaybird inquired, “What’s the monetary system here? Do they exchange gold for cash?”

Edge studied her for a moment as he approached and opened the passenger door for her. “YES. IT IS NOT AS HIGH OF RATE AS WHEN THE MONSTERS FIRST EMERGED IN THIS UNIVERSE, BUT IT IS STILL FAIR.”

“Thank you Edge. It seems we have a few more errands to run before returning to the house.” She turned to face Papyrus who had situated himself in the back seat. “As promised, you may now ask your questions.” She turned to Edge who had just started the car. “You as well. Your help has been much appreciated. What do you wish to know?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooo boy! Happy New Year!   
> I hope you guys have been having a good day and that things are going well.   
> I hoping to update a lot more this year and finish a few of my stories before I try starting the millions of other I have circulating in my brain. It's a mess in here thats for sure.   
> I have a lot more free time until summer (taking a semester off school, but maybe that's TMI, idk), so I should be able to write a lot more than before. So besides working on a personal project I can definitely get a lot more done. So yay!   
> Anyway, thanks for reading. I appreciate each and every one of you.   
> Leave a comment on your plans for the New Year, so that way you have to do them. Once it's written you have to do them >:)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of errands are run, and Jaybird answers questions about her world. It's not a happy story.

Jaybird felt a twinge of guilt after she told the two tall skeletons that it would be best to have a more lengthy conversation during lunch. This was because she wanted to run her errands without much more interruptions, and it was easier to focus on a lengthy conversation when she wasn’t trying to memorize the landscape and layout of the town. She was also attempting to get a read on the level of organized crime in the area. 

So far, as far as she could tell it was a relatively clean and safe community. A few shifty individuals and a few homeless ones as well, all human. 

She asked Edge what the name of the city was. It was, oh so cleverly, named Ebbott city, and was at the base of Mount Ebbott. So it made sense as to why the population was stagnating with monster populations. She knew it was fundamentally better, but it still struck her core as odd to not see the monsters in a muted color and have near lifeless eyes. 

This whole damn universe seemed as bright and shiny as Bambi. It was uncomfortable and near infuriating. 

Taking a calming breath Jaybird watched as Edge expertly pulled into a gold for cash exchange store. The bright colors and monster depictions showed it was obviously run by a monster. It made sense. It kept the control of Gold local. Smart. 

“I’ll be back shortly. Thank you for your assistance.” Jaybird told Edge, staring unflinching into his small dark red eye lights. 

He met her gaze, and after a few long moments dropped contact with a sharp nod and a subtle puffing of his chest. It was almost endearing. The corner of her lips twitched, but she suppressed it, keeping her face neutral. 

It was a fairly quick transaction. The golden reptilian monster running the store was fair in his trade and Jaybird exchanged about half her Gold reserves for a little over 20,000 dollars. She didn’t trust using her money reserves, as since it was from a different universe it would not be considered legitimate and she really didn’t want any attention from the federal government. 

Putting her money away into the inventory in her phone she returned to the car not 20 minutes later and ask the two skeletons about what tailor shops they had around town. Papyrus spoke up just as Edge opened his jaw. 

“OH THERE IS AN ADORABLE PLACE JUST OFF OF MAINSTREET. MY FRIEND MUFFET RUNS IT AND IS AN EXCELLENT SEAMSTRESS. EDGE YOU’VE GONE TO HER BEFORE AS WELL RIGHT?”

Edge glances at Jaybird and she can feel a spike of annoyance flare in his magic, but it dies quickly and he looks forward again before replying. “YES, HER WORK IS OF FINE QUALITY. SHE DOES GREAT WORK, BUT HAGGLES QUITE A BIT WITH THE PRICE.” 

Jaybird nods in appreciation, haggling was not a problem. She had also noted the quality of their clothing earlier, so that stood as a good testament for Muffet’s work. The spider monster in her universe was much better at interrogation under her imploy, so it was nice to see that she was useful in this universe as well. 

“Let’s go there then.” Edge nodded, already heading towards the shop. “We can get lunch after this before going to the grocery store, though a farmers market would be preferred. While not strictly needed, I prefer a higher quality of food.” 

Papyrus tapped his feet excitedly, hard enough that Jaybird felt it through the floor. “I SEE YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO HAS AN APPRECIATION FOR THE FINER FOODS, JUST LIKE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

Jaybird didn’t miss the minute tightening of Edge’s black fingerless gloved hands on the steering wheel. 

Her sympathy grew for the dark clad skeleton. Papyrus reminded her far too much of her bubbly counterpart. She could understand the irritation. So she didn’t encourage Papyrus’ ego stroking. 

“Hmmm. As long as it is of good quality it will suffice.”

  
  
  


They pulled up to Muffet’s tailor shop and Jaybird didn’t protest as they followed her in. This would take longer, and with someone else mediating she hoped it would reign Papyrus in. 

A small bell chimed as they entered, and as Jaybird had expected, a near carbon-copy (or magic-copy in this case) was Muffet. Her colors were more vibrant, and her five black eyes held a brighter sparkle of mischief than her Muffet did. 

She had to restrain herself from falling into the same familiarity she had with her Muffet. This was about to become very mentally confused. Her Muffet went by the alias Black Widow, so that would help Jaybird organize her thoughts. 

Muffet laughed, a brighter, chippier, “Ahuhu...Welcome back to my shop gentlemen. More orders to place, or…?” Her five eyes zeroed in on Jaybird and she met them, letting a friendly smile light up her face. 

“I’m the one seeking your business, I’ve seen and heard great things about your work.” 

Her topmost arm waved away her compliment, “My, my, no such need for flattery...” She giggled, and a pluck of emotion tugged on Jaybird’s soul. She ignored it, widening her smile as Muffet spoke again. “...even if it’s all true.”

“I expected nothing less,” Jaybird stepped forward and shook hands with Muffet. Her mind flashed back to Black Widow and her similar sassy quips. Shaking the mental image away she kept her friendly grin and introduced herself to the seamstress. 

“I’m looking for a few suits, three piece and shirts to go along with them. Think you’re up for the task?” She raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow at the seamstress. 

Muffet in return laughed heartily, “Only if your wallet is also up for such a task.”

“I’m sure we can come to an agreement, I’ll pay for the quality you give me.”

Muffet giggled again, a challenge rising in her bright black eyes. “Sounds like a deal my sweet deary.” 

They discussed colors as Muffet lead her into the back for measurements. She had hers memorized, but followed along with the process to further establish a good relationship with the four-armed seamstress. Her family, the thousands of little black spider monsters scuttled all around them, making the store one streamlined machine. It was impressive. 

Jaybird could remember the things those little spiders could do. Fair to say, Black Widow didn’t do a lot of the interrogation work alone. 

Removing her jacket and vest, Jaybird also slipped off her M-Gun holster, and luckily Muffet didn’t comment, just tisked at the torn condition of her shirt sleeves. 

“Someone stained them, and unfortunately I didn’t have time to change, so it was the best option. At the time.” 

At a glare Muffet sent Jaybird smirked knowingly, “It wouldn’t be worth it to attempt to fix. Besides,” Jaybird softened her smile in amusement, “now I get to have your fine work to replace these rags.”

“You tell no lies, my sweet deary.” 

  
  
  


They wrapped up her order soon after and Jaybird paid a projected third of the price. Muffet and many of her family waved them off as the trio left the seamstress’s store.

She let Papyrus prattle on about local restaurants and their quality. He focused a lot on italian places and the different kinds of pasta. After a few minutes she held up a hand and he stopped rambling. “I will pay for lunch to show appreciation for your extra accommodation for today. However, as Edge has been doing the most work I think it is best that he chooses where we go for lunch.” She glanced over at his slightly widened eye sockets. 

He stuttered through a few starting sentences before a kind of resolve settled and he pulled out of the street parking. Papyrus inquired-no incessantly bugged-about where Edge was taking them. “YOU WILL SEE!” He snapped, and ignored any guesses Papyrus threw his way. 

Jaybird for the most part ignored the exchange and kept her gaze out of the car. As they drove to a more high end part of the town the dark alleyways became fewer and Jaybird saw less and less deviant individuals. The streets were clean, and in the bright weather the windows and storefronts were essentially glittering. It further soured her mood. 

This whole damn universe was too bright and happy. 

Edge pulled into the parking lot of an obviously newer restaurant. The glossy black walls and minimalistic silver decor showed this was definitely a more high end place. She glanced at Edge with a raised eyebrow and half of a real smile. He knew his stuff. 

He reacted to her smile with a mild look of shock, his cheeks pooling red magic for a moment before he returned a half cocked smile. That didn’t look too bad on his sharp, angular face. 

Jaybird quietly snorted a note of amusement and waited as Edge rushed to open her door. He beat Papyrus to it, physically inserting himself between the other skeleton and the car. Papyrus had a flash of annoyance on his face for the briefest moment, but shook it off and stood with his shoulders held straight to the side. 

Edge opened the door and held out a hand to help assist Jaybird out of the car. She dipped her head in appreciation and took it. The tips of his exposed phalanges were warm, and felt a little rougher than a smooth rock. Not far from the feel of porcelain. His gloves were warm and made of fine leather. 

She kept her face neutral as they flanked her up the short steps to the black glass front doors. Petite Boîte in an elegant script decorated the door. Mentally she laughed at the joke. The building was quite square in proportion. 

Inside was much like the outside, but reversed. A lot of soft grays and silvers with black accents. Very minimalistic and elegant. Quite chatter was met with quiet classical music from a stage in the back corner where a long-haired brunette woman was playing. Dark dress tight and complimentary. 

A hostess in a white button up shirt and black vest and dress pants greeted them at the host stand. “Party of three?” She asked with just enough emotion in her voice to pass off friendliness. 

“IF YOU WOULDN’T MIND KATIE.” Edge said in a prompt and polite tone. The hostess wasn’t wearing a name badge either. 

The hostess smile widened and became a touch more real. “Of course Mr. Edge. It’s been a while. Would you like your usual spot?” She had already gathered their small black menus and was moving to lead them into the dining room. 

“YES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.”

They were led to a table almost in front of the piano. The music would keep most from eavesdropping on their conversation. Edge was indeed a smart monster. Jaybird’s appreciation grew quite a bit for the skeleton. 

A young man with light hair and a very convincing customer service smile glided up near silently and took their drink order. A mixed drink from the bar and a water for Jaybird. Edge ordered a neat scotch made from a monster brand of alcohol, and water. Papyrus got just a water. 

Edge went over the options and the best dishes, with Papyrus chipping in several times in agreement over several dishes. It seemed they were both rather familiar with the restaurant and high end culinary techniques and tastes. It seemed this dining experience would not be as terrible as she first thought, as Papyrus was indeed keeping himself in line. 

They placed their orders and they watched as the waiter dropped off their drinks and scurried to the kitchen. 

Jaybird sipped her mixed drink and hummed in delight that it was properly made. She turned to the two skeletons who were politely waiting. “Okay.” She said decisively. “You may both ask whatever questions you want for the duration of the meal, but only one at a time.”

Edge dipped his head. Papyrus nodded a little too vigorously. He had removed his gloves and his finger excitedly tapped together. She looked at him expectantly as she sipped her drink. 

“HMMMMM…” He thought aloud. “WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES?”

Jaybird liked twice in surprise. Not much of it showed on her face except the slight widening of her eyes and raised eyebrows. That...was not expected.

“Really? I came from a different universe and the first thing you ask is about my hobbies?” She shook her head minutely, a breath of humor escaping her lips. “You surprise me.” She placed down her drink and threaded her fingers together.

“I haven’t exactly had the time to put into hobbies, but if I find extra time in my day then I usually read or chat with some of the people I employ. I may just go out and enjoy a meal alone. It is rare when I can actually do something like that, but that’s the closest things I can actually call a hobby.”

Papyrus stared at her with rapt attention the entire time she spoke, so focused on what she had to say. It was a bit flattering to say the least. Edge on the other hand was also paying attention to what she had to say, but shifted to a look of deep thought as she mentioned her employees. Ah, so he was trying to figure her out. Cute.

“YOU MENTIONED EMPLOYEES, YOU RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS?” Edge spoke up just as Papyrus opened his mouth. The white eyed skeleton shut his mouth and just looked at her expectantly. 

A raised eyebrow and a slightly quirked smile was all she sent him. Clever skeleton. “More of a corporation. It’s branched off into several operations, but it was my older brother who was the founder and passed it over to me. He had business ventures he wanted to explore elsewhere. So I learned the trade, and expanded. In the city I lived in there was practically nothing I wasn’t involved in.”

She allowed a small rush of triumph rush through her at their astonished looks. Hiding her growing smile she took another sip, enjoying the fruity flavor and warmth spreading in her gut. It had a decent alcohol content. Good. 

“SO WHY DO YOU HAVE MAGIC? DO HUMANS IN YOUR WORLD HAVE MAGIC?!” Papyrus’ fingers tapped along the table as he restrained his excitement.

“I’m honestly surprised that wasn’t your first question,” Jaybird quipped. She switched her drink and took a longer drag of her water to combat the alcohol a little. “Well…” She steepled her fingers and pondered a way to phrase her answer for a moment. “Monsters emerged from our Mount Ebbott a little over 2 years ago. When the barrier broke a, well the best I can describe it was a burst,” she placed her hand over her soul where it hummed, still powering her shield. “What I can best assume is dormant magical powers in Humans were released. The strength of someone’s soul correlates directly to their magic power.” 

“WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONSTERS WHEN THEY ESCAPED FROM THE UNDERGROUND?” Edge asked, shoulders tensing and hands clenching in anticipation. He had a hard look on his face. He seemed to expect the worst. 

The waiter glided up at that moment and delivered each of their appetizers. Jaybird thanked them softly and they waited for him to leave before the skeletons turned to look at her. She glanced at her food, then up at the two tall monsters. They were both waiting with palpable worry and anticipation.

With a sigh she steepled her fingers once more and looked directly into each of their eye lights before locking eyes with Edge. “Many of them were gunned down by military forces that first night.” 

Their shock and horror were evident, clearly displayed in the drop of the postures. Papyrus deflated much more than Edge did, a gasp of horror dropping his grin into a grimace. Edge took in a shocked gasp of breath before regaining himself. 

While they collected themselves Jaybird tucked lightly into her appetizer of small stuffed mushrooms. Finishing a second Papyrus breathed in deep, drawing her attention. Taking a draw of water she turned her attention to him. “DID YOU SEE OUR ALTERNATE, OR OUR BROTHERS? HOW MANY MONSTERS WE-WERE…” He took another breath, as if the words physically pained him. “How many dusted?” His voice was so soft she could have missed it. 

Jaybird took a moment to recall what the videos and reports said. “Well over a thousand of those who left the mountain, the rest ran back underground. As for the Sans and Papyrus of my universe.” She stared unflinching into Papyrus’ white eye lights. “They were both dusted that night. Civilians had shown up in mass to protest and many recorded the event. They dusted in each others arms.” 

Both skeletons looked a little paler, their magic rushing back to their souls to process the rush of fear and dread. Jaybird had sensed that many times before so she ignored it and took a sip of her mixed drink. 

Jaybird ate a few more pieces of her appetizer before drinking more water and turning back to the skeletons that had not moved since she last spoke several minutes ago. “Eat before your appetizers get cold. I will explain the events of what happened.” They nodded dumbly. Edge was the first to snap out of his thoughts and robotically began to eat his mixed chicken salad, she forgot what he got exactly. Papyrus took a little longer to start picking at his small ravioli dish. 

“The ambassador of monsters, Frisk, arrived at the edge of Ebbott Town with the King and Queen of monster, along with some other representatives. Of course half of the country was in panic already from The Burst, and seeing actual monsters threw many into a frenzy. Social media and news channels blew up in fear and panic.

“The monsters set up a temporary camp outside of Ebbott Town, but people showed up in mobs that night, yelling at them to go back Underground and take their curse with them. Not soon after the military dropped in and took out most of the Boss monsters, and many of them in general. Those that fled back Underground were eventually rounded up and forced into indentured servitude. The military quickly developed shackles that stopped monsters from using their magic attacks.”

Jaybird took a moment, closed her eyes, and fought back the stirring rage that was building in her chest. The videos haunted her. They were innocent, and the military and government justified slavery. It made her blood boil and magic spike. She took several calming breaths, before opening her eyes and turning back to the Skeletons, who had stopped eating and just looked at her in undisguised horror. She agreed with every part of her soul. 

Taking another breath she picked up her mixed drink and downed the rest of it, setting it back down with a loud sigh. “So, as my influence was city wide any monsters that entered into  _ my _ city were released from servitude and employed instead. They couldn’t leave the city as they would be taken back into  _ slavery _ . I did what I could to help them, so understand why I have to get back home. I trust my people and leaders, but if I am not there they could deflect. I don’t have time to sit here, I _ have  _ to get back.” 

She let out a long breath, trying to catch her breath. Great, the alcohol was making her emotional. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself as outwardly she finished off her appetizer just in time for their entrees to arrive. 

Once the waiter left, having serviced their table fully, she turned back to the skeletons who had guarded and almost unreadable looks of contemplation on their faces. “I’m not willing to answer any more questions at this time.” She glanced at Edge, “I am, however, curious about your universe. If you don’t mind talking about it at a later time I would like appreciate some of your time.” 

  
  


They finished their meal quickly in relative silence as they were all wrapped up in their own thoughts. Papyrus tried to brighten the tense atmosphere with light-hearted small talk. Jaybird just hummed in dismissal at every attempt. 

Jaybird pulled out her money and paid for the meal before either of the others could pull out their wallets. She left a generous tip and they all left in a still quiet and tense atmosphere. Jaybird played it off to the staff, smiling and thanking the waiter and hostess on the way out. Papyrus even joined with the goodbyes. 

The drive to the grocery store was short and quiet. Edge had brought them to a marketplace. It was fairly busy as it was a little past one in the afternoon. Papyrus beat Edge to the door, which Edge only huffed in slight annoyance. It was easy to tell the darker dressed of the two was still dwelling on what she had told them. 

Papyrus seemed to have bounced back, but even he was slightly subdued. Still though, he prattled on about the products the store sold, and what dishes were good to cook together. She let him ramble on as they began walking through the store. 

Jaybird did end up asking the skeletons about what ingredients and spices they had at the house already and planned several larger sized meals around that. Papyrus talked about the rotating cooking schedule and where she could take her turns or help out during that time. She intended to just take care of herself, but if she was stuck in their house for the time being she might as well play by their rules. 

She did buy a mini-refrigerator for her room to keep her personal snacks and food to herself. She bought several monster food snacks to keep her magic levels up and a variety that she knew would satisfy her snack cravings at times. She got a variety of personal care and grooming items to stick to her care routine. 

She also bought two different sets of sheets and curtains for her room. She also found a fairly decent circular rug and some towels that she threw in the carts. In the end she filled two carts and looked at Edge skeptically. There was no way his convertible had this much trunk space. 

“I CALLED RED TO BRING STRETCH’S TRUCK.” 

“Thank you.”

After they checked out Papyrus and Edge pushed the carts towards a gleaming burnt orange pick up truck. Red was behind the drivers seat and glared openly at Jaybird. She didn’t react and just stared back before Red rolled his eyes and looked away. Even from this distance she didn’t miss the nervous downturn of his smile. 

As they loaded her purchases into the car Jaybird glanced around and spotted what, or rather who she was hoping to bump into. A homeless women, who only looked like someone who missed a few showers rather than a ball of human filth like she was used to. She approached and squatted down to the woman. She took her thin, shaking hands and looked right into her eyes. 

The woman looked a little taken aback as Jaybird smiled softly at her, “Say, if you don’t mind I could use a little bit of your help. I would like to find out just who is working the backside of the city. If you could figure out how many… groups, are roaming around town and generally how many single people like yourself are wandering around I can give you a lot more than today. That sound like something you can do?” 

The woman finally glanced down at the two large bills Jaybird had slipped into her hands. Her dark eyes regained a spark of life and she nodded muttering thanks. 

Jaybird just smiled again, “Oh I know someone as clever as you can figure all that out for me. I’ll be back here in three days,” she paused and pulled out her phone, ‘accidently’ flashing the grip of her M-Gun as she checked the time. “About the same time, a little past three. Does that work for you? Three days at three o’clock?” 

The dark haired woman finally looked away from where Jaybird had revealed her weapon. She stared into Jaybird’s hazel eyes and nodded rapidly. 

“Good. Thank you for your help. I will see you later.” She waved and walked back to the convertible, the pick up truck already taken off. 

The drive back was uneventful. Papyrus chatted on about the dishes they could make, and sleep overs, and movie marathons, game nights. Jaybird tuned him out, thoughts settling on assembling her room. She was also going to need to acquire transportation. She glanced thoughtfully at Edge for a moment. He seemed willing to assist her so he would be the best to ask. 

They returned to the house and saw Blue hauling in the rest of her bags from the truck. At least a few of the skeletons were helpful in some way. 

Expanding her magic she searched for how many of the skeletons were in the living room. Blue was in the kitchen. Red and Stretch were in the living room, magic level tense, but at rest. Good.

She walked back into the house, Edge and Papyrus on her heels. The still potent magic within the house made her shield thicken tenfold again. The increase in her magic drew the attention of Red and Stretch who both scowled at her. She didn’t glance their way, and instead walked into the kitchen. 

Blue was in the midst of putting her groceries away. She saw that he had left the majority of her personal snacks on the counter next to the two large silver refrigerator. She didn’t see the bags that held her personal care items or her mini-refrigerator. Blue spotted her, and his grin and magic spiked happily. A flush of magic instinctually ran into her shield. He paused, and stayed where he was, just offered a smile. “YOUR THINGS ARE IN YOUR ROOM. I WILL FINNISH PUTTING AWAY YOUR GROCERIES AND THEN GIVE YOU A TOUR OF THE KITCHEN. IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU?”

Jaybird nodded, face a little softer from her usual passive inexpressive one. “Thank you, as soon as the furniture is here it shouldn’t take too long to situate myself.”

“OH THE FURNITURE ALREADY ARRIVED. I HOPE YOU DO NOT MIND, BUT BLACK ALREADY ARRANGED IT FOR YOU. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ANY OF IT CHANGED AROUND.”

Jaybird paused in minor surprise. That Robert was an excellent human indeed. An appreciative grin lifted her lips for a moment. “Thank you for that, I should finish putting away my things shortly.” 

She turned and Papyrus and Edge were still standing there, looking between her and Blue with some kind of scrutiny in their expressions. Her gaze caught their attention and they glanced down at her. Wow, they were actually quite tall this close. 

“Would you mind showing me my room?” Papyrus jumped at her inquiry and rushed ahead as Edge huffed quietly and walked her to her room. It was on the other side of the stairs down a hallway that had two doors. “THIS IS THE GUEST BATHROOM, BUT WE EXPECT YOU WILL BE THE MAIN ONE USING IT FROM NOW ON.” Papyrus said as he swung open the door on the left hand side before turning to the one on the right.

He opened the door and Jaybird was actually pleasantly impressed by the organization of her furniture. Her desk was on the wall the door opened up to, and it faced the wall so she could see who was coming into her room from the side. Next to the desk were the bookcases, empty, but full of possibilities. 

At the end of the room in the middle of the wall was her bed, which was flanked on both sides by nightstands. The dark brown wood had no nicks or scrapes and Robert had been wonderful enough to sell a very plush mattress along with the bed. A small walk in closet was open next to the bookcases. It was empty and ready to be decorated. 

Jaybird fetched out her cream colored bedspread and tan brown sheets and curtains and asked Papyrus if he wouldn’t mind showing her the washing machine and dryer. He insisted he would take care of it and show her them later on. She agreed, only for the fact she had a lot more to put away. 

Edge helped a great deal in emptying and organizing the items. The mini-refrigerator was opened, wiped out, and placed next to her desk. The light blue color was a good pop in the room. The cream colored circular rug was laid out on the floor and Edge fetched a hand-held vacuum and vacuumed it as she took her items into the bathroom next door and put them all away. 

Papyrus returned with a hamper for her towels and other bedding to be washed later on. The rest of anything she bought she stored in the closet. 

Finished she took in a small satisfied breath and looked around the room. It was still fairly barren, but at least it was starting to come together. 

“Thank you for your assistance today. I need to return to the kitchen to get that tour from Blue. I will see you later.” 

She ushered them out of her room, turned off the light and closed the door behind them all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyyyy~
> 
> Look who updated! Haha you asked for a long chapter and you got one. This one was a bit of a monster to write. I wanted to finish out the day, but by the stars it was taking too long. Buuuutttt~ that gives us more stuff to write about. But let me say I have bitten off a big chunk of an almost endless sandwich, I've really done it in for myself with this beast of a fic. Oh well, just means you guys get to stick around longer. Yayy~  
> Oh! Wanna buy me some Ko-fi? I'm also opening writing commissions through Ko-fi, I have a post about my rules on there, so if you want something written from me for you personally, take a gander! https://ko-fi.com/lacey5296
> 
> If you're still here, thanks again for all your support. I'll try to do longer chapters like this, but it will take me more time from now on. I'm trying to aim for an update at least every two weeks for longer chapters. Thanks for your patience and see you in the next chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is tense.   
> Jaybird has a conversation in the middle of the night, and we get to see a glimpse of her past.

Papyrus and Edge hovered close to the kitchen but didn’t enter as Blue showed Jaybird around the large kitchen. Two large refrigerators, a large electric stove, an equally large dishwasher, all gleamed a spotless stainless steel. Gray granite counters, with a large island tucked in the middle. The sinks were stainless steel and deep. It was wonderful. Clean and modern. Jaybird approved. 

Blue showed her where everything was located and organized as she watched on, face a little softer than usual. He was excitable yes, but very methodical. She could grow to like him. She paused her train of thought and went over his magic and characteristics. He didn’t have a high level, but he had a surplus of magic. He was different from the other Sans’, more like Papyrus. 

She might have to retract her appreciation if he starts spouting nonsense about friendship. 

As soon as Blue concluded his tour it was close to five in the afternoon. Edge barreled in, announcing he was going to prepare dinner. Blue grinned and offered to help, but Edge huffed and turned him down. Blue’s bright permagrin dipped for a second as his magic contracted in disappointment, but he wished Edge luck and strode out of the kitchen. 

Jaybird paused and glanced over the gleaming kitchen and over into the conjoined dining room with the large dark wood table. It fit everyone in the house, even with the addition of Jaybird. Jaybird hummed slightly. Being in a confined space, playing nice...she’d rather fist fight a bear. 

Especially since she knew she’d win.

She considered taking her food to her room and skipping the whole ordeal. But. That would make her look weak. That would not work in her favor with so many boss level monsters sharing the same space. No. She would endure the guaranteed tense and awkward meal. Especially if she could make her alternate squirm by not responding to her advancements of “playing nice” and “making friends”. 

Jaybird smothered the spike of irritation at the thought of her alternate. She was irrational in her… annoyance? Anger? Hatred? Jealousy? 

Mentally shaking that train of thought away she acknowledged that she could not play nice with her alternate. She could tolerate some of the skeletons, Edge, Papyrus, and Blue especially. The others were unexplored and still wary of her, and the feeling was mutual. 

She felt Edge approaching, but didn’t react until he bent down slightly and spoke in a near whisper, “You Don’t Have To Join Us For Dinner.”

Jaybird let out a breath and glanced up at him. His face was close so she stared into his small red eyelights, searching. His gaze was filled with understanding, and he glanced quickly at Papyrus who was looking at them from the couch in the living room. He looked away from them, flare of orange lighting up on his cheeks. Ah. 

Jaybird huffed a single note of laughter and looked back at Edge, whispering back. “I’m not going to give her the upper hand. If I can make her and the others squirm in the reality of their consequences,” she paused and looked almost joyfully back at Edge, “then I’m going to enjoy every second.” 

Edge was shocked for a moment before Jaybird’s merely grinned and tapped his cheekbone in appreciation. “Thank you. I will see you at dinner, if you don’t mind sending someone to fetch me when it’s ready.” 

She didn’t look back, but heard his grunt of affirmation. Not looking at anyone, and keeping her shoulder square she walked back to her room. 

She let out a breath and let her shoulders dip just slightly. She couldn’t relax fully, not yet. She pulled out her phone and accessed her inventory, pulling out a few pieces of monster candy. As she ate them to replenish her magic she went through her inventory and began to pull out a few things she had stored away. Several of the book she was reading, and a few changes of clothes. 

She popped in a second piece as she took her personal journal and sat at her desk. She documented the last day in extreme detail for later. She would have to explore the house, and especially explore and photograph the lab when she had a chance. If she could get her hands on blueprints for any of the machines up there it would be a huge advantage to take home. It would be very useful. 

She finished recording the day and switched to writing a couple of outlines on how to start building a new career here. If she was going to be stuck here for a while she was going to need to get some distance from this house. 

She didn’t want to stay this close to her alternate for a prolonged period of time. 

A knock on her door made her pencil pause over the page. “Come in,” she called out as she placed her journal and pencil back into her inventory. 

Sans entered, his permagrin dipped down, magic dense and shielded. Jaybird rose to her feet, clasping her hands behind her back. “So the scary head of the house pays a visit. What can I do for you?” Her voice was cold, hard. She gazed into his eyelights unflinchingly. 

His grin dipped even lower and his magic concentrated even more. Jaybird let out two notes of rough laughter, “Your attempts at a threat are really laughable. If you think I’m a threat you would have attacked me earlier, separated me, not let me out of the house. If you’re here to tell me to play nice you're wasting your magic. I’m not your little Bambi, get over it. If you don’t want me here, fix your damn machine and send me home.” 

“just don’t cause trouble.” Sans grumbled obviously still upset. “dinner is ready.”

Jaybird just nodded and Sans vanished into thin air. That actually surprised Jaybird. Teleportation magic was rare. She’d have to put up some protection from it for her room. Thank the stars her Alphys was a genius and Jaybird had a few of her machines with her for such. Needs. 

Jaybird left her room and went to the dining room. It was loud and filled with chatter until she entered. All eyes were on her as she took the last empty seat between Edge and Blue. A large meal of lasagna, roasted green beans, mashed potatoes, and still steaming rolls were placed in the center of the table. Her plate was already dished out. She glanced between Edge and Blue as she sat down. 

“I HOPE YOU DON’T MIND THAT I PREPARED YOUR PLATE FOR YOU.” Blue said. 

Jaybird regarded him as she pulled her seat in. She nodded, “Yes, thank you.” 

As she took her first bites conversations resumed in hushed whispers. She could feel several eyes on her, but ignored them as Blue struck up a conversation. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH EDGE AND PAPYRUS TODAY?”

Speaking very precise she told him what happened. He perked up when she mentioned Muffet, “SHE IS VERY GOOD AT TAILORING! HER CLOTHES ALWAYS TURN OUT PERFECT!” 

Jaybird hummed an affirmation around a mouthful of food. The food was delicious, perfectly cooked and seasoned. 

As she and Blue conversed a little more about Muffet, Bambi finally piped up. Jaybird looked her way, all emotions gone. “Umm, so, Jaybird. It seems you’re settling in okay.”

Jaybird just stared. That was a pointless observation. It wasted her time to even hear it spoken aloud. She raised an eyebrow at Bambi and went back to eating until a loud gruff voice spoke up. “you don’t have to be such a rude bitch, she’s just being nice!”

“Red!” Bambi admonished. 

“LANGUAGE!” Both Papyrus and Blue chimed. 

Jaybird reguared the angry expression and boiling magic of Red. Black, Mutt, and Stretched watched her with matching scowls, while the rest just watched in anticipation. The magic levels in the room made the hairs on the back of Jaybird’s neck stand on end. She reinforced her shield so it visibly outlined her once more. 

Jaybird then tilted her head before placing it on her interwoven fingers that were propped up by her elbows on the table. “It would waste my breath responding to a pointless observation. This is also a waste of breath as that conversation had nothing to do with you either. Bambi is a big girl, and certainly doesn’t need a little guard dog barking up the wrong tree.” 

Red bristled, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. Jaybird only watched, eyes narrowed and waiting. Several of the others looked ready to jump up, to what ends she didn’t know. 

Sans opened his mouth, but Black beat him to it. “WE SHOULD HAVE JUST THROWN HER OUT AS SOON AS SHE BARGED INTO THE HOUSE.”

“gotta agree with the short-stack,” Stretched hummed.

Black glared at Stretch, and Mutt looked ready to murder the orange-clad skeleton. Papyrus and Blue glanced around at the hostility looking uncomfortable. 

Bambi was on her feet, trying to reel in the growing chaos. The panic in her big bright eyes was delightful to Jaybird. Sans was quick to his feet after that, shouting above the chaos to bring everyone’s attention back to him. 

“look, she’s not the same as stardust, you all know that. you all also know how difficult it was adjusting to this universe. so, let’s not antagonize each other here,” he looked pointedly at Red who rolled his eyes, “ok?”

Red growled, “you know as much as I do that she’s a threat! i’m not sleeping under the same room as a-“

“A murdered?” Jaybird interrupted. Her eyebrow was raised in question as she stared Red down. 

“That’s quite hypocritical for someone with as high as a level as your, Red.” Her eyes slowly crawled around the table, gauging the reactions from everyone. Bambi looked at her in horror, and rage rolled through Jaybird’s gut. 

She looked into the eyelights of every high level monster at the table. “Many of you have the dust and blood of several lives on your hands. Is it so unbelievable that your cute little Bambi might ever be capable of such a horrible deed?” She looked pointedly into Bambi’s eyes before turning back to Red, “Even if they’re from a different Universe?” 

It was dead silent, so she turned back to Bambi. Flush healthy skin, shimmering long brown hair, bright innocent eyes. Rage rolled through her again, but she suppressed it and tilted her head again, eyes narrowing. “You have siblings yes?”

Jaybird tilted her head back up, and lowered her hands to the table. “And you love them yes?” Bambi nodded, too afraid to utter a word. 

“And you would do anything for them?”

A nod. 

“But would you really?” She narrowed her eyes once more, analyzing her alternate. 

Her alternate hesitated, lower lip began to tremble as she started to catch on. “Would you kill for them? If it was the only way to save them, would you kill someone to protect them?” Her voice was ice cold, eyes bearing down on her alternate who was too scared to respond. 

“No, no you wouldn’t.” She glanced at Red, who was staring at Jaybird, expression unreadable, magic condensed. She scanned the rest of them, but everyone seemed a little shocked at Jaybird’s speech. 

She placed her hands on the table and slowly rose, leaning over the table slightly to stare back into Bambi’s eyes. 

“But I did.”

Jaybird thanked Edge for the meal before grabbing a roll and leaving the silent dining room to head back to her room. 

Just before she closed the door she could hear the eruption of voices from the dining room. It was satisfying, and she took a large bite from the roll as the door clicked closed. 

Jaybird heard chaotic shouting for a long time after she closed her door. She tuned it out and instead began making preventative measures around her room. She pulled out several palm sized devices made by her Alphys. She attached one on the backside of her door. It would send a ping to her magic core if it opened. Another she popped four smaller pieces from and placed in the corners of her room. This devices negated teleportation magic from entering into the space inside of the border the smaller pieces registered. The last she placed under her bed. Any magic that wasn’t her own would be met with a surge of disarming magic. 

It was passing 10 o’clock and the house was finally quieting down. Jaybird had heard Bambi yelling several times, sounding frustrated. A small note of satisfaction pulled Jaybird’s mouth upwards. 

As time clicked by 11 the house was silent. A pulse of magic showed that magic levels were calm. 

Finally. Finally, Jaybird dropped her shield, soul shaking a little from the strain of constant magic use. Popping another magic candy in her mouth she slowly stripped out of her suit. She threw the suit over her desk chair and dressed in shorts and black tank top she had placed on her bed earlier. She then pulled her hip holster from her inventory and made sure her dagger and M-Gun were secure in its holding and accessible before she crawled under the covers. 

Lying on her back Jaybird let out a breath, letting her tough boss act fade out of her system. An excited girlish giggle then escaped her lips as she realized her situation. Oh Alphys would be freaking out! It was like all the books Jaybird had read! Alternate universes existed! The multiverse theory was real! 

Jaybird let the excitement flow through her, giggling behind her hands and kicking her feet just a little. She had read so many sci-fi books about alternate universes and now she was living one! 

Her brother would tease her so much if he found her geeking out like this! He always did when her geeky interests slipped out. Stupid Red Robin. 

Her thoughts sobered. She missed her brother. Her fingers had itched to text and call him all day. She wondered how he was doing. She wondered if her universe was continuing on without her. Her fingers itched to get up to that fancy-schmancy lab and see for herself. She wanted to grill Sans about it until his ears...wait he didn’t have ears, stupid metaphores. She’d grill his metaphorical ears off then. 

Scrubbing her hands down her face she sighed into the dark, unfamiliar room. She knew she’d have to play this right to be able to ask Sans questions. She scowled, she hated playing nice to him and her alternate. Bambi made her soul crawl with unpleasant feelings. It brought up those annoying feelings of jealousy that she had put behind her when she was young. It also brought up memories of… no. No not even opening that Pandora’s box. 

Instead Jaybird let all her thoughts begin to slip away as she cycled her magic into a smooth rhythm through her body. She would find a way to get home. One way or another. If Sans and Bambi couldn’t fix it she was going to find Alphys to see if she could speed the process along. 

Home. She had to get home…

Rough skin and deep voices surrounded her. It sounded like she was underwater, but she could feel the hands all over her body, asking her to do things she didn’t want to do. Fear, terror, and disgust rolled through her body, echoing in her very soul until her soul was ready to tear itself apart. 

The blurred images, the pain, the rough hands. Hot tears and sobs spilled from her chest and her soul shrank back in on itself. Yelling, threats about her brother, and her feelings were now under the water with her. The rough hands and ugly voices didn’t stop. She felt one on her throat and it squeezed. Tighter and tighter. She couldn’t breathe! She couldn’t!

Lurching up in bed Jaybird instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth as a shout shot from her lungs. 

She gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring down her face and back. Her hands shook as they held each other over her mouth. Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar room, her magic, red and lashing poured from her until the memories from the day before snapped back to the forefront of her mind. 

She groaned and tried to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead with her still shaking hands. Dammit! She hadn’t had a nightmare in so long! She was doing better. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes until flashes of light and dull pain calmed her down enough to pull away. 

She checked the time. 4 am. 

Jaybird groaned and scrubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes again, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. 

She threw back the covers of her sweat soaked sheets and shivered at the cold rush of air that ran over her body, drying most of her sweat and leaving her feeling rather gross. Her feet landed on the carpeting floor and she padded silently to her door. 

Her magic was still a little drained and her mind frazzled from the nightmare that only fogged up her mind all that more. So she only paused and listened for any activity before opening her door and padding quietly to the kitchen. 

The whole house was quiet. It was strangely peaceful, which further helped begin to settle Jaybird’s raging magic and foggy mind. From her memory of the tour the night before Jaybird fetched a mug and started up the coffee maker. 

As the sound of dripping water and the smell of fresh coffee began to fill the air Jaybird let out a breath, cycling her magic again to clear her mind. She kept her magic close to not interfere with the other and keep them asleep. 

She poured the coffee and fixed it to her liking and settled back against the island counter, looking out the small window that was above the sink. She could see a few stars glittering through the half open blinds. The world felt quiet, and she didn’t need to put up any walls or be on guard. These moments were few and far between, so she savored this quiet moment in time. 

When she heard the scuffle of feet on tile behind her, her heart and soul jumped together and her hand automatically drew her M-Gun, filtering her light blue magic into the chamber. 

Honey orange eyelights and a too loose black tank top over slightly glowing white bones. Stretch stared at her, eye sockets wide and eyelights wide. His eyelights were darting around her exposed shoulders, taking in the near countless scars that were all over her arms, many dipping back under her clothing. Her hair was messy, and sticking up in random directions. Her hazel eyes were sunken and had circles under them. 

Then her scars seemed to disappear as her magic rushed over her form and her M-Gun appeared, humming and ready. Her hair was back in place and her eyes looked deadly. That tired and vulnerable form almost seemed like a vision that vanished in the moonlight. 

See he wasn’t a threat she powered down her M-Gun, but kept her shield up. It was light blue and not as strong as her green magic, but it would protect her. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” She quietly asked, moving back to the coffee machine. He hadn’t attacked her when her back was turned. So she would take that as an act of good faith and would pay it forward by being amicable. 

After several seconds of hearing nothing she looked back to see he was still staring at her. She cleared her throat, and he blinked eyelights focusing on her. She held up an empty mug. “Coffee?”

He cleared his throat and nodded finally looking away. A small orange blush lit up his face for a moment, but Jaybird ignored it and turned back to the machine, filling up the mug 2/3rds of the way to allow room for cream or sugar if he needed it. 

She padded around the counter quietly and passed him his mug, “Not sure how you take it, so there’s room.” After he took it she padded away into the living room with her mug. 

She felt his eyelights on her until she left the room. It was too much to deal with this early. She plopped down on the end of a sofa that faced the rest of the living room. Keeping the stairs, kitchen, and front door in view. Stretch might not be an immediate threat, but she couldn’t count on the more violent ones not getting the best of her. 

She sighed and breathed in the steaming coffee. Stretch entered the room a few moments later. Still looking exhausted and small without the hoodie he was wearing the day before. He sat on the other end of the sofa she was on and eyed her as he took a drink. 

His eyelights drifted down her arms and around her face. He was trying to figure out if what he saw was real. 

She took a drink then turned and looked at him, one leg tucked under her, hands cradling her mug to her chest, relishing in the warmth. 

She hummed and his eyelights snapped to her. “Tell me something about your universe and you can ask something of me.”

He stared at her, eyelights looking for understanding. She felt his magic probing, looking for her stats. It went against instinct, but she let him. His eyes snapped to her soul as he took in her stats, eyelights widening a little. 

“Your brother, Blue. I mean, your Sans and you. You don’t behave like the other alternates. How does your universe differ from this one?”

“hhhhmmm…” He took a swig before looking back at her, eyelights not meeting hers. Not in a submissive way, just in a shy avoidance of confrontation. It reminded her of how she was when she was younger and entering middle school. It was almost cute.

“...they dubbed us the swapped brothers. er’one from our universe has “swapped” personalities,” he air quoted with a roll of his eyelights. His gruff annoyance almost made her smile. “so i’m more like the Sans’ personalities, and my bro is more like the Papyrus’.” 

He glanced to the far wall, eyelights looking at something far away. “we made it out from the underground after our human, Chara, broke the barrier. had been above ground for almost a year when we got sucked here. it’s been a little over a year since then.” He blew out a long breath. It said a lot. 

Jaybird hummed, taking small sips as she listened. So he was from a soft universe too. She scanned him, slowly, taking in his magic levels and interactions. He was definitely a boss monster with a lot of magic, but a very low level. There was also a bit of a darkness to his magic and soul. The other Sans personalities had the same darkness. Some trauma or something else clouded their magic. 

She was not going to ask. She had her own demons to deal with after all. Besides, she didn’t want to grow too close to these beings, she had to go home after all. 

Several seconds of silence ticked by before he turned, locking eyes. “...wha...how did you…” His question hung in the air, but she accepted it. 

She let out a breath and let her light blue magic shield drop. Her hair flopped back down, wild and unkempt. Her silver scars that littered her skin gleamed in the moonlight streaming down from the large windows of the living room. The skin under her eyes darkened, revealing dark bags and a look of exhaustion entered her eyes, turning them darker in color. 

He stared at her, eyes roaming over all of her scars. A mix of horror and pity entered his expression and he blew out a long breath. 

“As you can assume, my life was not as fine and peachy as hers. I’ve had to scrape and crawl my way to where I am now, to have the influence I have now. People were underhanded and I’ve had to kill to protect my own life, and everyone I care about. I couldn’t flinch, I couldn’t show a single weakness to the wrong people.” She paused as she scanned over her arms, remembering how she got every single scar, the phantom pain dancing across her mind. 

“It took a long time to learn how to be strong, and I still can’t let my guard down.” She looked towards the stairs that led to the rest of the house. “Some of you would gladly take the chance to get rid of me. I’m corrupting your perfect image of your little Princess up there.” 

She glanced over at Stretch, trying to school her emotions. Her rage and jealousy surfacing in her eyes, leading to a small flare of red magic to light them up before she could corral the building emotion. “I must be your worst nightmare of her. Thinking any form of her is capable of harming, much less killing, another being.” 

Stretch looked ready to protest. Mouth agape before it clicked shut. “Can’t even try to deny it, can you?” 

Jaybird leaned her head back against the couch, a few notes of self-pitying laughter breaking from her as she stared at the ceiling far above her. She moved her head back down and downed the rest of her coffee before standing. She heard and felt the stirring of Papyrus, Edge, and Blue above. 

Pausing she glanced down at Stretch. A sense of some understanding passed between them and she walked away without another word. 

She returned to the kitchen to rinse out her mug and returned to her room. If the more energetic monsters were awake at this hour she didn’t want to be cooped up in her room, so she would go out and do her training regimine. 

She dressed quickly into long leggings, a sports bra, and a baggy tank. She pulled her hair back into a very small hair tie and slipped her socked feet into her running shoes. Pulling out headphones she plugged them into her phone and pulled up her music, quickly leaving her room. 

The energetic monsters were not downstairs quite yet so she used that to her advantage. Stretch was still on the couch and stared at her as she passed. She glanced at him, and tipped her head in acknowledgement before exiting the house and turning to enter the woods for a long jog. 

This universe would not make her weak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, thank you all for sticking around and liking and reading this! I’m in a kinda bad place mentally so doing anything I want is a struggle, so sorry if this wasn’t as good as the others.
> 
> In good news I’m getting married in 2 weeks! Not a big fancy ceremony or reception, we’re just going to the courthouse with family and a few friends, so thats exciting! I’m happy, but also not entirely sure how to feel about it all. *shrug*
> 
> Anyway, fun note, I totally meant to have Edge find Jaybird in the kitchen and like start falling for her super hard when he saw her scars, but then Stretch had to bust in and actually make it good. She needed more bonding with the others anyway. 
> 
> So thanks for reading! I seriously love all of you and can’t wait to see where this goes!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaybird lets off some steam.   
> During a house tour she finds the library.

Jaybird jogged several miles into the forest until she stumbled into a clearing. The sun was just breaking over the trees and the delicate rays of light lit up the morning dew that sparkled in every direction. As she caught her breath she looked around at the untouched beauty around her. It prompted her to let her guard down, and after a quick scan of the area she did just that. 

Breathing in deep, her magic channels sang with relief from the constant use. This wasn’t the first time she had to keep her shield up for several days in a row, but it was still taxing on her soul. 

The crisp morning air filled her lungs and a renewed energy filled her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was out in nature. Well that’s not true. Her brother did take her out to the mountain before he moved over to the next city to establish his corporation. Admittedly they were followed by several of their personal guards, but seeing the sun rise over the mountain had been one of her favorite moments she shared with her brother. 

She missed him. 

She let the longing of her brother, her home, and her people run through her, filling her with determination. If she didn’t see progress by the end of her first week here she was tracking down the Alphys of this universe. She hoped that this Alphys had some training with whatever science dimensional travel needed. 

She pushed that thought aside and just let herself bask in the here and now of the rising sun in the vibrant forest clearing. Her mind wandered to the happy moments she had back home. 

Her brother picked her up and spun her around once the news of his take over of the business. She purposely ignored the blood stains he missed cleaning on his neck. He placed her back on the ground and hugged her close, kissing her forehead. She remembered how she sagged in relief into his arms, letting tears of happiness escape.

Meeting Frisk, or the newly dubbed Junior, and training them to oversee the monsters integration into her corporation. Junior, Jaybird hummed contently, they were a good kid. Strongest defensive magic she had ever seen. Good heart, hard working, and great ethics working with the monsters. Countless times they laughed along with Jaybird and Alphys about random things Alphys was geeking over. Her excited ranting lifted her soul.

Jaybird’s rage caused her to often march into the training room and take it out on whoever was there. Her emotions and magic spent, she would leave the room feeling satisfied. Whoever was her unfortunate training victim was left on the floor exhausted and near unconscious. 

Her people were practically undefeatable because of this. Watching her people grow from there was always so soul-warming. Knowing that her people were safe because they were strong. 

Slowly watching her city become clean, watching crime rates plummet, and unemployment become non-existent. The streets were clean, and people could walk home feeling safe. She was happy watching this develop as her brother fixed the corporation, then it all came to fruition when she took over. Her city was happy. She achieved peace between the two species. 

The best thing was the laughter. It echoed freely as she walked through her office. On the streets too, it could be heard almost everywhere. 

She may have soiled her hands and doomed her soul to make her corporation what it was today, but she never regretted a single moment of it. 

The memories faded and Jaybird noticed a considerable amount of time had passed. Her initial worry that she had missed something important at her building, but then she realized she had to real responsibilities here. It put her a bit on edge. Her hand itched to pull out her phone and scan its notifications, but she restrained herself. 

A long training session was just what she needed then. 

She jogged a little further into the forest until she found a considerably large evergreen tree. She turned her music up even louder as she pulled out her hand wraps and wrapped her hands up, opening and closing her fists in preparation. The first branches were just above her head, so she had clear access to the trunk of the tree.

Perfect. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


As Jaybird landed one final strong kick to the trunk a loud snap echoed from the wood. The tree trembled before careening away from her, a large crack splintering all the way across the trunk that was several times thicker than she was. 

She watched in satisfaction as the tree groaned and toppled to the forest floor, crashing to the ground with a ground shaking thud. Popping out her headphones she approached the side she had been using as a punching bag and saw several indents that were free of bark and beginning to concave into the bark. 

Her fists, elbows, knees, and shins were a little sore, but she welcomed the familiar ache. The tree was definitely less durable than the metal beam she usually used, but it had served its purpose. 

Humming contently she popped her headphones back in, turning down the music before turning around and making her way back towards the house. With luck most of the occupants would be gone for the day. 

As she jogged out from between the trees a little ways off from the front of the house she saw Blue, Papyrus, and Edge chatting near the front of the house, magic sweat glinting on top of their skulls. 

Blue spotted her first, and his sockets widened in surprise for a moment before his grin widened and his magic flared happily. He waved, which caught the attention of the other two tall skeletons. They turned her way and Papyrus brightened and also waved. Edge just offered a soft smirk, nodding his head in greeting. 

Jaybird pulled out her headphones as she approached the trio. Her shield was already back up, but not as strongly as before. She still didn’t trust them fully, but she knew these three were at least less of a threat than the others. 

“JAYBIRD! WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE! I DID NOT KNOW YOU WERE AN EARLY RISER.” Blue greeted. 

She offered him a small smile and let out a cooling breath. Her body was already recovering and adapting to her workout. She felt energized and powerful. She scanned the three skeletons all decked out in workout gear. “I see you are also of the fellow mind set of training yourselves everyday.” She gestured vaguely at them. 

Papyrus and Blue puffed their chests out in pride, and even Edge straightened and smirked wider. They all sang their own praises which was a mixture of amusing and annoying. They were full grown beings, but resembled puppies who just got told they were good boys. 

They were a lot like her brother.

Rolling her eyes and letting out a breath of amusement she turned and entered the house. Her shield strengthened as she walked in and spotted Bambi on the couch cuddled between Black and Rus. They stared at Jaybird, and Jaybird got a small thrill of satisfaction as Bambi stared at her muscular form, then scowled and pinched at the extra fat pooling over her stomach. 

Soft life gets you a soft body. 

Red entered the room from the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. His eyes roamed all over Jaybird and a lecherous grin widened his sharp permagrin. Jaybird glared, but didn’t give him the time of day. 

She returned to her room and gathered a change of clothes before disappearing into her bathroom to shower and change. 

She pulled her blue hair out from its small ponytail and debated for a moment. She didn’t have the exact hair care she needed, so she would just have to wash it in cold water until she could make it out to a salon. So she did. She washed her hair in cold water, scrubbing her scalp roughly before turning the water temperature up to a pleasant hot temperature and washed the rest of her body, making sure to massage out the remaining sore kinks from her training. 

Finishing her shower she stepped out, dried off, and hesitated. Normally she would dress for business. In a three piece suit, clean, and sharp enough to cut a bitch. But now…

A strange emptiness flowed through her. For the first time since she was...what? Six? She didn’t have something to do, someone to report to, or someone to discipline. She had a multitude of opportunities to do anything. 

She hated it. 

How do people do this? Function without responsibility or an endless list of things to do? It was mind boggling, and if humans could have an error display screen, that is how her brain was functioning, or not functioning now. 

She heaved a deep sigh and shut that weird empty feeling behind a mental door and got dressed in a perfectly cut navy three piece suit with a white button up shirt. No reason to let her image and reputation diminish just because she was away from her job. Besides, she thought tightening her vibrant blue tie, there was a very specific bitch she wanted to cut with her looks. She snorted and brushed off imaginary dust and grabbed a hair dryer and styling product. 

On the counter was one of her daggers. Well at least she had a few things that were sharp enough to cut a bitch. Mentally rolling her eyes at the joke she blamed her brother's tendency for punnary. She could even hear his obnoxious laughter bouncing around her skull. 

Busing herself with drying and styling her hair, she let her mind focus on her actions. Already she was letting her mind wander too much and it was already affecting her emotional state. Finished with her hair she went about her skin care routine. 

  
  
  


Just as Jaybird’s hand was hovering over the bathroom door knob did a familiar magic presence appear. She opened the door to see Sans, fist half raised to knock on her bedroom door. 

His hand stopped as he whipped around in surprise and glanced up at her. He (and the other Sans’) were only half a head shorter, but she couldn't deny enjoying the slight height advantage. 

She stepped even closer and closed the bathroom door behind her. Never breaking eye contact she smoothly rested her hands on her hips and raised a single eyebrow in question. 

She could feel his magic fluctuate with nerves before he seemed to find his resolve. Silence stretched just enough to be socially awkward until he finally spoke. “imma show you the house. c’mon.” 

Jaybird for her credit didn’t call out his pansy cop-out. She just blinked and dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement as he moved to lead her through the house. 

Sans led her past the couches in the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. The railing extended along the hallway that overlooked the living room. A quick glance upwards showed the third floor had the same set up. Railing that overlooked the living room with room on the other side. 

Sans walked towards the north end and pushed open a door to a room to a room that made Jaybird’s eyes widen in delight. It took too long in her opinion to wrangle her excitement filling her soul. It was a library. Well it looked like an office with the desk in the far corner covered in paperwork and an open laptop. 

Her eyes roamed over all the bookcases that filled every wall. The early morning air lit up the lounge furniture in the middle and caught on the dust in the air. It was a calm and welcome sight, and she forgot Sans was in the room for a moment as she wandered over to the closest shelf. Her eyes scanned the spines and noticed that they were filled with books about monster history and their culture. Some looked new and some looked ancient, wrapped in soft, faded leather. 

The shuffle of Sans pink slippers on the plush cream colored carpet startled Jaybird out of her focused interest and she turned to him, not able to quell the slight embarrassment from painting her features for a moment. She cleared her throat, “I must ask, but is this room open for everyone?” 

For a moment Sans magic and expression was a little less guarded, but he quickly brushed it off and chuckled. “as long as it’s not fully  _ booked _ it’s all yours.” 

Jaybird smashed down the joy from flaring in her magic or showing on her face as her fingers itched to grab the books and start reading then and there. As monsters were enslaved right away and any written evidence from the underground was burned she knew nothing about their culture except the snippets from her monster employees. 

She also purposely ignored his obvious pun. If he was anything like her brother, any attention to his jokes or puns would only make it worse. 

Sans led her out again from the library pointing out the bedrooms and bathroom before making it to the end of the hallway where Bambi’s bedroom was. She occupied the master bedroom and had her own attached bathroom. This irked Jaybird, and she raised an eyebrow as he led her up the stairs to the third floor. 

Sans, Papyrus, Stretch, and Blue all had regular sized rooms and they let little Bambi sleep in the master bedroom. Either they were being kind and allowing the only girl to have her own space. Or they were spoiling her. Despite her irritation with Bambi, she would refrain her opinion until she had more information about the rooming arrangements. 

The third floor had the lab that took up most of the third floor, and Rus and Black’s bedroom were also on this level. The last door led to a small closet and a door in the ceiling led to storage space in the small attic. 

They traversed all the way down to the main floor and Sans led her to a door at the bottom of the stairs. Before they could go down Papyrus exited the kitchen and perked up seeing them. 

“AH GOOD. SANS YOU FINALLY BECAME A RESPECTABLE HOST INSTEAD OF SHIRKING YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND SULLYING THE NAME OF THE SKELETON HOUSEHOLD.” He scolded, hands on his hips and looking cross. He then turned to her and his sour expression disappeared, a bright optimistic grin back on his face. 

“I CERTAINLY HOPE HE IS SHOWING YOU THE HOUSE PROPERLY. I WOULD HAVE DONE IT MYSELF, BUT IT IS SANS RESPONSIBILITY AND I WILL NOT ALLOW HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRIGGLE OUT AND CONTINUE HIS LAZY STREAK.” 

Jaybird offered a small smile. Papyrus certainly had more of a backbone than Sans. She paused at the accidental mental pun and nodded towards Papyrus. “Yes. While it hasn’t been the best tour I’ve ever received, he has shown me around to an adequate degree.”

Papyrus sent a small glare at his brother who shrunk under his gaze. He turned back to Jaybird and straightened, nodding to himself. “I SEE. WELL, WHILE IT DOESN’T LIVE UP TO MY IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH STANDARDS, IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH IT, THEN I WILL LET IT SLIDE.” 

That actually made Jaybird snort in amusement. “Well, we have a little more to tour. Would you like to demonstrate a proper tour so I can hold your brother to the same standard going forward?” 

Papyrus magic flared and his eye sockets brightened in undisguised delight. He clasped his red leather gloved hands together. His magic flared and his tan leather jacket and red scarf fluttered in the magical burst. It was endearing. 

She was so caught up in his enthusiasm that she almost dropped her shield. He was so much like her brother and some of the younger members of her organization. Not childlike, his snark was evident of that. Just overbearingly open and enthusiastic. 

Regaining control of herself she motioned towards the door. “After you.” 

He strutted forward, pride puffing his chest out and marching down the steps with purpose. 

Her lips quirked up. She caught Sans eye, who was watching her with interest and a darker curiosity. Her emerging smile disappeared and she met his gaze with matched distrust. The next second she reeled it back and looked at him with neutrality. “Thank you for the tour, and thank you for the use of your library.”

He blinked, magic pausing before swirling with interest. He shrugged, “course. feel free to look at anything in there. jus’ stay outta the lab as the equipment is sensitive and we don’ wan’ another incident.” 

She didn’t visually respond, just turned and followed the enthusiastic skeleton down the stairs. His response was full of mixed messages. Of all the monsters in the house, he was the hardest to understand. 

Filing that thought to analyze later she met Papyrus at the bottom of the stairs where a small hallway where three closed doors were lit by dim lights. “HMMM IT SEEMS I NEED TO GET BRIGHTER LIGHTS DOWN HERE. ANYWAY, BEHIND THIS DOOR IS OUR TRAINING ROOM!” 

He opened the first door to reveal a large room with mats covering the floor and the walls covered in sound-proofing tiles. “WE ALSO HAVE MAGIC SUPPRESSORS IN THE WALLS SO THOSE USING THE ROOM WON’T DESTROY THE HOUSE...AGAIN.”

Jaybird raised an eyebrow before remembering exactly who lived here, and how over eager and how powerful they were. It now intrigued Jaybird how she would fare against them. She’d have to explore that later. 

Papyrus led her out of the room and down the hall to the second door. As soon as the door opened electronic game music reached her ears. Inside the room was crowded with a mix of old school game machines and newer virtual reality gaming systems. 

The current machine running was a dancing game where Blue and Black were squaring off against each other. They bantered loudly at each other, well Blue bantered. Black was just yelling curses and throwing insults. Blue seemed to get a kick out of Black’s insults and laughed loudly after each one. 

Papyrus gestured to the door and they exited. “AS YOU CAN SEE THAT IS THE GAMING ROOM. IT IS ALWAYS VERY LOUD. NOT AS LOUD AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN BE, BUT ALAS I WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO STRAIN YOUR HUMAN VOICE.” 

Was that a back-handed compliment? 

It was. The little, well very tall, cheeky skeleton. Jaybird could grow to like his snark. 

“THIS LAST ROOM IS JUST FOR STORAGE,” Papyrus opened the door to show bins and several items stacked around the decently sized room. “I KNOW YOU JUST ARRIVED, BUT IF YOU EVER NEED EXTRA STORAGE SPACE I WILL DESIGNATE SOME SPACE IN HERE.” 

He closed the door and started leading her back towards the upper floors. “UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS THE SMALLEST PART OF THE TOUR SO I CANNOT SHOW YOU MY FULL HOSPITALITY.” He was genuinely annoyed. “HOWEVER, IF YOU WISH I CAN GIVE YOU A QUICK TOUR OF THE GROUNDS AND SHOW YOU THE GARDEN A FEW OF US HAVE BEEN CULTIVATING. IT HAS BEEN COMING ALONG QUITE NICELY, THANKS TO MY EXPERT CARE.”

He really was hamming it all up. His cocky self promotion could quickly become annoying, but the small flutter of nerves in his magic made it endearing. Grown as he was, he was like her brother when he was younger and unsure of himself. 

Jaybird accepted and over the next half hour he showed her the indeed growing garden around the back of the house. As it was getting into later spring and early summer there was quite a bit of green already sprouting. There was also a well maintained gazebo in the corner of the manicured backyard. The yard faded into the surrounding forest and Jaybird couldn’t deny the beauty that surrounded them. 

As soon as they finished touring the backyard Papyrus led her back inside. “UNFORTUNATELY I MUST GO TO WORK, OTHERWISE I WOULD SHOW YOU MY IN DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE GARDENING I HAVE DONE THIS YEAR. PERHAPS ANOTHER TIME.”

“Perhaps,” Jaybird acknowledged. She wouldn’t mind spending more time in this garden. “Would you mind escorting me to the library before you have to leave? If it’s not too much trouble.”

Papyrus magic fluttered happily and he took a moment to rein himself in. He bowed and acted the part of a gentleman as he took her inside and up into the library. The house was rather quiet at this time. It was a little later in the afternoon, so Jaybird assumed that many in the household would be at work at this time. 

He bowed once more and made his exit with another exuberant goodbye, leaving her in silence. 

He was much more tolerable when he wasn’t preaching about being friends. Jaybird was still cautious. She was letting herself get too attached to this world already. It was too warm and welcoming. She had to figure a way to get home. She needed to know how her world was suffering in her absence. 

Mentally she groaned as that meant she would have to talk to Sans and or Bambi to get the answers she wanted. 

Jaybird turned and glanced out the single large window letting in the bright morning light. 

Later. That would be something she asked later today. 

She turned to the bookcase that held all the books about monster history. For now she would learn all she could about the monsters from this world. Maybe they were similar enough she could ask her Alphys or Muffet, or even Grillby if he was up to talking. 

She glanced over the shelves, hand running gingerly over the spines. Libraries had always been an escape for her. The old gang that ran her city avoided them like the plague, so when she was attending school for those brief years she would spend as much time as she could hiding amongst the rows of books pretending to need to do homework. 

A content sigh left Jaybird as she let the memories wash over her before pulling out a long weathered book titled “A History of Monsters”. 

“A little on the nose…” Jaybird chuckled and cracked open the book slowly, mindful of its age. Her body auto piloted onto a sofa, the sun's rays running over her legs. 

She was surprised it was in english, though the terminology was several centuries old. It was still more comprehensible than a Sheakespear play. 

It covered their prewar history. Tales of the old kings and living alongside the humans peacefully. It listed the rise and fall of each ‘clan’ of monsters. The elementals. The spirits. The list comprised most of the book, going over the expanse of the clans and their bullet patterns. The one that caught her eye was the skeleton clan, and the Dreemur clan. 

The skeleton clan was small, barely two dozen members, in all shapes and sizes. Mostly humanoid, but several had more beast-like appearances. 

The Dreemur clan was more like Royalty. They were large in magical power and in stature. Some ruled better than others, but none were tyrannical. They ruled for hundreds if not thousands of years. Boss monsters through and through. 

It took her a little over two hours to finish the book. Her mind was swirling happily at the new knowledge. Her body was already back at the shelves and she looked over the spines again. “More History of Monster”, written by the same author Old Turtle Terison. She thought it was a joke, but with how limitless monster names come and seeing it on two history books she took it as it was. 

The next book was more of the same. Treaties, and more clans. Their expansion over the continent, and others it sounded like. It also covered more of the magical origin of monsters. How the first monsters were made from concentrated magic from the earth itself. Long before humans. 

It turned out Old Turtle Terison wrote several history books as she tore through the third and was a good way into the fourth before the sound of someone clearing their voice snapped her out of her reading. 

Glancing up her eyes connected with Bambi. All warm feelings disappeared as her cold, boss persona took over her geek one. Her legs that were tucked underneath her as she leaned against the armrest of the sofa. In seconds she was sitting up straight, book resting in her lap. 

A look of annoyance flashed across Bambi’s face. Jaybird watched as Bambi took a breath and offered a polite grin. “Hey, you have time to talk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! Not dead! I’ve been super busy with 3 jobs as I switched my afternoon jobs around.   
> But now I’m down to two, and that one is closed for the time being. I still have my graveyard shift at UPS, and it’s been stressful and busy as hell with the lack of staff.   
> My problems aside I’m glad I was able to slowly work on this. It’ll probably be a while until I update again as I really wanna focus on When Fate Gives you Skeletons. But thanks for sticking around to read this, y’all are the best.   
> Seriously I keep seeing comments and kudos for this story and it makes my day every time. 
> 
> I’m a little nervous with this chapter, but hopefully it shows how Jaybird is slowly breaking down her walls, even if it’s bit by bit.   
> Also! Oohhh! Bambi and Jaybird are finally talking alone! Can’t wait to see what happens. 
> 
> Anyway! You’re the best! Thanks for reading! See you in the next update!

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Witchtale by F1ukemeister24  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458959/chapters/51138604  
> I enjoyed the notion of having an alternate reader who's not all sunshine and rainbows, and possesses magic. It was such a cool idea I had to write about it.  
> I have almost no plans for this (my apparent usual writing style) so we're all riding by the seat of my pants, so hold on lol.  
> I will also try to update my other fics since I now have writing time since the semester is out. So if you follow those know It'll update soon.  
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think should happen, I love suggestions!!
> 
> ps. there was no editing, so yeah... yay word vomit!


End file.
